Brian wrote: >>But, please, what is the U.S.A. English term for the British back yard???? I'm pretty sure there is no term for that in American English. The term "yard" in California (and I think most of the US) means all of the lot that is not occupied by the house, including the lawn(s), vegetable garden, patio, swimming pool, lighted basketball court, barbecue, greenhouse, and parking area for the motorhome. There is no concept of a separate work area, probably because there is no standard layout for an American backyard. Some homes have extensive landscaping (what I think you'd call gardens) around them, while many have little or none. The area behind a house is especially diverse, because it's not on public display. The backyard may be given over entirely to storage of used automobile parts, or to illegal housing for extended family members, or to a ham radio tower, or may be just a patch of dirt where the dogs run around. Since there's no standard layout, there is no term I know of for particular sub-parts of the yard. It's all just yard. Sorry. Mike San Jose, CA